ECOWAS and the Dynamics of Conflict and Peace-building

Authors

Thomas Jaye (ed)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.95

Keywords:

ECOWAS, Dynamics of Conflict, Peace-building

Synopsis

ECOWAS and the Dynamics of Conflict and Peace-building testifies to the fact that we cannot talk of West African affairs, more so of conflict and peace-building, without talking about ECOWAS. For over two decades now, West Africa has remained one of Africa’s most conflict-ridden regions. It has been a theatre of some of the most atrocious brutalities in the modern world. It has, nonetheless, witnessed one of the most ambitious internal efforts towards finding regional solutions to conflicts through ECOWAS.

The lead role of ECOMOG – the ECOWAS peacekeeping force – in search of peaceful solutions to civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Cote d’Ivoire has yielded a mix of successes and failures. In this book, the authors take a candid look at the role that ECOWAS has played and show how the sub-regional organisation has stabilised and created new conditions conducive to nation building in a number of cases. Conversely, the book shows that ECOWAS has aggravated, if not created, new tensions in yet other cases. The comparative advantage that ECOWAS has derived from these experiences is reflected in the various mechanisms, protocols and conventions that are now in place to ensure a more comprehensive conflict prevention framework.

This book provides a nuanced analysis of the above issues and other dynamics of conflicts in the region. It also interrogates the roles played by ECOWAS and various other actors in the context of the complex interplay between natural resource governance, corruption, demography and the youth bulge, gender and the conflicting interests of national, regional and international players.

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Author Biographies

Thomas Jaye

 is the Deputy Director of Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana. His research interests include international security issues, democracy, post-conflict peace-building and reconstruction. His main work has been on regional security issues and security sector reform (SSR) with emphasis on security sector governance.

 

Dauda Garuba

 is the Nigeria Programme Coordinator for Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) – an independent policy organisation dedicated to promoting research, capacity building and advocacy on effective governance of oil, gas and mining revenues. He was formerly a Senior Programme Officer for peace and security at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja, Nigeria.

 

Stella Amadi 

was until 2009, the Head of Programmes at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja, Nigeria. She is a lawyer and gender specialist. She has participated regularly in the annual meetings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) at the United Nations in New York.

Abdel-Fatau MUSAH

 is the Director of External Relations at the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He holds a PhD from the
Moscow State University, Russia. Prior to joining ECOWAS, he was Senior Conflict
Prevention Adviser to the Danish Agency for International Development (Danida)
and ECOWAS (2005-2009); Senior Program Officer at the Open Society Institute
(2002-2004); Consultant to the UN Regional Office for West Africa on peacebuilding and conflict prevention (2004-2005); Head of Research & Advocacy at
the London-based Centre for Democracy and Development (1998-2001;) and
the Africa Desk Officer at the British-American Security Information Council,
London (1996-1998). His research interests include: golablisation, regional security
and light weapons proliferation. Among his numerous publications are: West Africa:
Governance and Security in a Changing World (2009); The Evolving ECOWAS Security
Architecture (2008); The ECOWAS Moratorium on Light Weapons: Pitching Political Will
against Reality (2004); and Mercenaries: An African Security Dilemma (2000).

Abiodun ALAO

 got his PhD in War Studies from King’s College London,
where he is currently a member of staff of the Conflict, Security and Development
Group (CSDG). His research focuses on the politics of natural resources and
African security. His publications include Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa: The
Tragedy of Endowment, University of Rochester Press (2007); The Mau-Mau Warrior,
Oxford: Osprey Publishing Company (2005); The Burden of Collective Goodwill: The
International Involvement in the Liberian Civil War, Ashgate Publishers (1996); Brothers
at War: Dissidence and Rebellion in Southern Africa, London: British Academic
Press (1994); Peacekeepers, Politicians and Warlords: The Liberian Peace Process, Tokyo:
United Nations University Press (1999) (co-authored), and Africa after the Cold
War: The Changing Perspective on Security, African World Press (1998) (co-edited).

Andrews ATTA-ASAMOAH

 is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security
Studies (ISS), Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International
Affairs from the Legon Centre for International Affairs at the University of
Ghana. He has been conducting research on peace and security issues in Africa.
Among his publications are: “Military Challenges and Threats in West Africa” co-authored with Kwesi Aning (2011); “Sanctions and Embargoes in Africa:
Implementation Dynamics, Prospects and Challenges in the Case of Somalia”
(2009); “Counter-Terrorism and the National Security of African States: Points
of Convergence and Departure” (2008).

Augustine IKELEGBE

is a Professor of Comparative Politics and Public Policy
at the University of Benin, Nigeria. He has researched and published on identity
and resource conflicts, governance and security, civil society, and underground
economies. His most recent work is Militias, Rebels and Islamist Militants: Human
Insecurity and State Crises in Africa (co-edited with Wafula Okumu) published by the
Institute of Security Studies, Pretoria (2010).

Awa CEESAY-EBO

 is a Peace and Security Fellow for African Women at the
Conflict, Security and Development Group (CSDG), King’s College, London.
She is currently based in New York.

Boubacar N’DIAYE

 is an Associate Professor of Political Science and PanAfrican Studies at the College of Wooster, Ohio, USA. He has published in the
areas of civil-military relations, democratization, security sector governance and
capacity building in Africa. His most recent works pertain to military involvement
in African politics, democratization, and capacity building, especially in African
parliaments and civil society organizations. He has worked with African, US, and
international agencies such as, ECOWAS, AU, UN. He is an executive board
member of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN).

Crosdel EMUEDO

is presently completing his doctoral thesis in international
relations at the University of Benin, Nigeria. His works and scholarly publications
have generally been focused on the quest for justice, equity, peace and stability in
Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

Emmanuel Kwesi ANING

is the Director of Research at the Kofi Annan
International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana. He holds a
PhD from the University of Copenhagen. He has taught at the European Peace
University, Austria, and the Institute of Political Science, University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University, both in Denmark. He has also taught at Ghana Armed
Forces Command and Staff College, and worked with ECOWAS, the African
Union, Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United Nations.

Funmi OLONISAKIN

is the founding Director of the African Leadership
Centre (ALC), which aims at building the next generation of African leaders by
providing a clear understanding of peace, security and development. She has also
served as the Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group at
King’s College London since 2003. Her most recent publications include: Women
and Security Governance in Africa, (co-edited with Awino Okech) Pambazuka Press
(2011); Security Sector Transformation in Africa (co-edited with Alan Bryden), Lit
Verlag (2010); and Women, Peace and Security: Translating Policy into Practice (co-edited
with Karen Barnes and Eka Ikpe), Routledge (2010).

Ishola WILLIAMS

 is the Executive Secretary of the Pan-African Strategic and
Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG) – formerly African Strategic and Peace
Research Group. He retired from the Nigeria Army at the rank of Major General.
He has extensive experience in the areas of security, conflict, and innovative science
and technology issues.

Mohammad J. KUNA

 is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology,
Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, and technical adviser in the office
of the Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission, Abuja. He has been head
of the Department of Sociology and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences. His areas
of interest include conflict and state formation in postcolonies. He is the author
of Violence and the Formation of States: The Case of Northern Nigeria, 1960-1966.

Musa ABUTUDU

 is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University
of Benin, Nigeria. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of
Ibadan. He is a pioneer laureate of the CODESRIA Governance Institute, and
MacArthur Foundation Scholar on Peace and Security at the University of Texas,
Austin. He has published on regional integration, democracy and democratization
as well as peasant organizations in Africa.

Olawale ISMAIL

 is currently a Senior Researcher and coordinator of projects
on African security and governance at the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI). He holds a PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford,
UK. His research interests include regional security mechanisms, peace-building
and post-conflict reconstruction, peace operations, security sector and justice reform, political violence, disarmament, and demobilization and reintegration

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December 23, 2011

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